Bringing you the science fiction and fantasy books that you want...one damned episode at a time!

The Once & Future Podcast is a weekly book-centric podcast for readers and writers alike that focuses on all things fantasy and science fiction, talking with today's hottest authors about their books, writing, and general geekery.

It’s David Tennant’s birthday, and we here at the Once and Future Podcast would like to wish him a happy one!

I think most people in our circles know Tennant from his role as the Tenth Doctor on BBC’s Doctor Who. He’s my favorite Doctor, probably because he really was able to make me feel better after a rough week. His Doctor could always make me smile—unless he was making me cry. Ten was also special for me because he was my son’s first Doctor. Watching that magic happen as my son was hooked just like I was with Tom Baker’s Fourth Doctor will always be a cherished memory.

But Tennant is nothing if not a talented actor, and his roles go way beyond Doctor Who. How about his chilling portrayal of Zebediah Killgrave in Marvel’s Jessica Jones, or his role as DI Alec Hardy in Broadchurch? Theater geeks would appreciate his portrayal as Hamlet, and of course, he owned the role of Barty Crouch Jr. in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. And of course, he plays the suave demon Crowley in the upcoming series Good Omens, based on the novel by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. David Tennant truly is the geek’s geek, and we hold a special place in our hearts for him.

Not only is Tennant a great actor, but from all accounts that I’ve seen, he’s a very decent human being as well. So let’s raise our glasses/cups/coffee mugs to this great hero of geekdom, and wish him a great many more Happy Birthdays!!!

Melanie R. Meadors is an author of middle grade fantasy, a role playing game designer/editor, and a blogger with The Once and Future Podcast and GeekMom. She also loves science, sewing, music, comics, DMing for a couple of gaming groups…In other words, she is a professional nerd. You can learn more about her at her website.

I don’t know about you, but I am SO EXCITED about the new season of Doctor Who, starting on October 7th. And yes, I say that every time a new season comes up, but seriously, this is the first season where we will have a FEMALE Doctor in the form of actress Jodie Whittaker.

A new trailer has just been released, which has a definite mixed reception. And no, it’s not just because of the feminine Doctor. It’s because of the MUSIC. What is up with that? I felt like it just distracted from the otherwise epic scenery of the trailer. Why not have some form of the theme music or some dramatic symphonic stuff? Meh. But even with the music, the trailer has me pumped for new episodes.

It will come as no surprise to fans and members of the science fiction and fantasy community that the new Doctor has had to face some serious criticisms for the mere fact that she is a woman. Well, OK, let me rephrase that—there has been criticism. I can’t use the word “serious” to describe man-babies crying because someone got girl in their fandom. But yes, here, in the twenty-first century, there still exist people who think that girls can’t do things as well as boys can, or that by putting a woman in a role, it “ruins it.” To be honest, I rather look forward to losing them as part of the fandom. It will certainly make things more enjoyable for the rest of us. And…how can you claim to be a fan of something so weak that it gets ruined by putting a woman in it? That’s pretty lame.

Stylist Magazine had Jodie read some of the nasty (and not so nasty) tweets about the new Doctor, and it’s pretty amusing.

What about you? Are you looking forward to the new season, the new Doctor, and new adventures?

Melanie R. Meadors writes about goblins, science, magic, superheroes, and other nerdy things. She was part of the dual degree program for physics and astronomy at Northern Arizona University until she discovered that her evil super-genius powers were useful for writing fiction as well. She is a blogger and general b*tch monkey at The Once and Future Podcast. You can learn more at melaniermeadors.com

Holy cow, have you folks heard?? At Comic Con International, it was announced that after five years, the animated Star Wars series Clone Wars is getting a revival to complete the series after it's cancellation in 2013! That's right, there will be twelve new episodes of Clone Wars, which will supposedly answer a lot of questions fans might have had, such as, "What the heck happened to Ahsoka in those years between Clone Wars and Rebels?

So what's the catch?

Well, if you really want to see the new episodes of Clones Wars, they won't be on Netflix or even Amazon right away. You'll have to subscribe to Disney's new digital subscription streaming service. There also is no specific release date, the series just having been announced as part of the Star Wars: Clone Wars anniversary panel at San Diego Comic Con.

The episodes themselves look interesting, and I'm excited to see them--no one was a bigger Clone Wars fan than me. Can I afford to watch them, though, if I have to subscribe to yet another streaming service? That remains to be seen, and kind of feels like a cheap shot.

You can see the trailer for the new episodes here:

Melanie R. Meadors writes about goblins, science, magic, superheroes, and other nerdy things. She was part of the dual degree program for physics and astronomy at Northern Arizona University until she discovered that her evil super-genius powers were useful for writing fiction as well. She is a blogger and general b*tch monkey at The Once and Future Podcast. You can learn more at melaniermeadors.com

Would you believe the most popular partner to Netflix and chill with is...your dog? (OK, not THAT Netflix and chill...)

That's right, Netflix recently did a survey, and they found that most people like to watch Netflix shows and movies with their pets! Fifty-eight percent, to be exact. And it's not just dogs and cats--people also watch with birds as well as other small animals (I myself watch with my guinea pigs on my lap). I suppose you don't have to worry about your dog spoiling the ending to a 15 episode series or judging you for watching Kong for the fiftieth time. In fact, one third of responders said they turned to their pet for comfort during upsetting scenes. And almost a quarter said they actually talked to their pets about what they were watching.

Image: Netflix

Though it's not always easy to watch with your pets. Several said they had to bribe their companions to continue watching the show in peace (hmm...*cough* well, does feeding them so they are quiet during the show count?), and others have even changed shows because their pets weren't engaged.

Melanie R. Meadors is the author of fantasy stories where heroes don't always carry swords and knights in shining armor often lose to nerds who study their weaknesses. She’s been known to befriend wandering garden gnomes, do battle with metal-eating squirrels, and has been called a superhero on more than one occasion. Her fiction has appeared in Circle Magazine, Prick of the Spindle, and in the anthologyChampions of Aetaltis. She studied astronomy and physics at Northern Arizona University and has published some non-fiction in the field of astronomy and library sciences. She's the co-editor of the anthology MECH: Age of Steel and editor of Hath No Fury, and she is a blogger and general b*tch monkey at The Once and Future Podcast.

Remember when you first watched Star Wars: The Force Awakens and thought, as a certain stormtrooper walked away, "I'd recognize that swagger anywhere..."? Wait, you didn't recognize Daniel Craig's jaunty moves in his cameo appearance? Well, keep your eyes better peeled when you go to see The Last Jedi, because apparently, the movie got the royal treatment!

Hannah McCay/Reuters

Back in April 2016, Princes William and Harry visited the set of The Last Jedi, and were rumored to have filmed scenes in disguise. Now, in an interview with Hollywood Reporter, John Boyega, who plays Finn in the film, confirms that the royal pair were recorded in a scene with him, "wrapped in stormtroopers costumes." Also supposedly disguised in the scene? None other than Tom Hardy.

It'll be a fun guessing game of who's who in the movie, but my hope? I'll be so wrapped up in the action and adventure that I'll forget to keep an eye out for them!

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Melanie R. Meadors is the author of fantasy stories where heroes don't always carry swords and knights in shining armor often lose to nerds who study their weaknesses. She’s been known to befriend wandering garden gnomes, do battle with metal-eating squirrels, and has been called a superhero on more than one occasion. Her fiction has appeared in Circle Magazine, Prick of the Spindle, and in the anthologyChampions of Aetaltis. She studied astronomy and physics at Northern Arizona University and has published some non-fiction in the field of astronomy and library sciences. She's the co-editor of the anthology MECH: Age of Steel and editor of Hath No Fury, and she is a blogger and general b*tch monkey at The Once and Future Podcast.

Jessica Jones, the cynical and sarcastic unlikely heroine of Netflix's show of the same name, is back for a second season! Rumor has it this season will be full of surprises, action, and some familiar faces. Yes, we have to wait until March 8th to get answers, but that just gives us all time to rewatch season one, right? And for those who have never watched it? Jessica Jones stands alone quite well, you don't have to have watched any of the other Netflix Marvel shows to get it. So give it a shot!

Melanie R. Meadors is the author of fantasy stories where heroes don't always carry swords and knights in shining armor often lose to nerds who study their weaknesses. She’s been known to befriend wandering garden gnomes, do battle with metal-eating squirrels, and has been called a superhero on more than one occasion. Her fiction has appeared in Circle Magazine, Prick of the Spindle, and in the anthologyChampions of Aetaltis. She studied astronomy and physics at Northern Arizona University and has published some non-fiction in the field of astronomy and library sciences. She's the co-editor of the anthology MECH: Age of Steel and editor of Hath No Fury, and she is a blogger and general b*tch monkey at The Once and Future Podcast.

Even people with no interest in football were glued to the games tonight, in order to see THIS!

Tickets for Star Wars: The Last Jedi are on sale NOW! I have mine, how about you?

Melanie R. Meadors is the author of fantasy stories where heroes don't always carry swords and knights in shining armor often lose to nerds who study their weaknesses. She’s been known to befriend wandering garden gnomes, do battle with metal-eating squirrels, and has been called a superhero on more than one occasion. Her fiction has appeared in Circle Magazine, Prick of the Spindle, and in the anthologyChampions of Aetaltis. She's the co-editor of the anthology MECH: Age of Steel and editor of Hath No Fury, and she is a blogger and general b*tch monkey at The Once and Future Podcast.

HBO has just announced their new behind the scenes series, The Game Revealed, a look at how the latest action-packed season of the show Game of Thrones was made! And you can watch it right here!

See how Arya made the transformation to Walder Frey, get a glimpse at the real life location behind Dragonstone, and watch interviews with cast and crew members! Every Monday, HBO will be releasing a new episode for their subscribers, seven episodes in all, so stay tuned!

Not everyone appreciates comics. I learned this early in life. It only takes a few instances of getting your precious plucked from your hands on the school bus or at recess and getting torn up to the tune of laughter to teach you that (also, FYI, only takes a few instances of getting kicked in the nuts to teach people never to do that to you again. Just saying). But unless you've been living under a rock, you'll notice that there has been a resurgence in the popularity of comics recently. New comic conventions are popping up all over the place, and kids are once again dressing as superheroes for Halloween.

What caused this resurgence? Well, Netflix believes part of it is due to them.

After doing some market research, Netflix discovered that a widely diverse group of people have been watching their multiple series based on Marvel comics. Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, Daredevil, and Luke Cage viewers come from all kinds of backgrounds and love all kinds of different movies, from mysteries to romance, and of course, action flicks. What's bringing such a diverse group together to watch these series?

Well, part of it is by design. Netflix worked hard to create an algorithm that will recommend its shows to people who like other shows with similar aspects--even it they are in different genres.

"At Netflix, we know genres are just wrappers, which is why we work hard to create algorithms that help members break these pre-conceived notions and make it easier for them to find stories they'll love, even in seemingly unlikely places," says Todd Yellin from Netflix.

Overcoming genre bias hasn't only helped Netflix with the Marvel shows. Many viewers of the hit series Stranger Things and Black Mirror were brand new to the horror and science fiction world. How does Netflix know that? Because they can see that these particular viewers had never before watched something with the labels of horror and SF on Netflix.

So what are the key aspects of the shows that attract people who are fans of other genres? This is where tags come in handy. Shows and movies on Netflix are marked with tags like "buddy movie, cooking, adventure, conspiracy, friends, first love," etc. The possibilities are endless. Specifically, Netflix attributes these terms to the Marvel shows:

Daredevil: Anti-heroes and moral ambiguity

Jessica Jones: Sharp humor, strong females, dark crime

Luke Cage: Dangerous worlds, complex consequences

Iron Fist: Edgy, coming of age

Netflix

Once viewers watch these shows and realize they enjoy them, they go off and explore other things in the genres, starting with the comics, and branching off into other things like novels, action figures, and more. It's a win-win for people to explore new things, and Netflix is helping out with that. Sure, it sounds kind of Big Brother-ish, to have your viewing habits tracked, and if we were to fall into a 1984-like world, there could be some negative consequences. But for now, these algorithms are being used to steer fans toward new and exciting content. And who doesn't want that?

If you are a friend or fan of mine, you know I'm a pretty smart person. I went to school for astrophysics. My husband has his degree in mechanical engineering, and has worked at optical companies. We aren't strangers to the world of optics and lenses and what we should be looking for when we buy things like solar eclipse viewing glasses.

Yet, we were still duped.

Nerds and laypeople alike are pretty stoked--as they should be!--about the upcoming solar eclipse on Monday, August 21. As most school kids know, though, in order to see the eclipse, you need some special equipment. Looking at a solar eclipse with your naked eye, through sunglasses, even through things like welders' glass and things like that, will lead to permanent eye damage. Your retinas don't have pain receptors. You can't tell that they are being damaged. But the light from a solar eclipse is so focused and bright that it will sear your retinas and can cause blindness, and at the very least, irreversible damage. People have used things like pinhole cameras and other indirect methods of viewing eclipses for years now. But more recently, people started using solar eclipse glasses, the cheapest of which look like paper 3-D glasses, but that have lenses that look completely black.

Legit solar eclipse viewing glasses should be so dark you can't see ANYTHING through them, not even the lights in your house, nothing. And the lenses should meet the transmission requirements of ISO 12312-2. But here's the thing...in the days where everyone owns a printer, where anything can be mass produced, etc, there is a HUGE influx of fake glasses out there, that are CLAIMING to be ISO certified, that have the logo on them, etc, but aren't.

When we were buying our family's glasses, we did what we thought was due diligence, and to be honest, eclipse glasses fraud wasn't high on our concern list. Who the heck would do that, putting people's eyes at risk?

Well, it turns out, quite a few people and companies.

We bought our glasses from Amazon. We have Prime, and it was convenient. We got a 10 pack of the paper framed kind, and they looked like the ones Bill Nye advertised via the Planetary Society. When they arrived, I put them aside, to wait for the big day.

Then a friend sent me a link to a news article warning people about the fake glasses.

My eyeballs are important to me, and I had misgivings about using the glasses in the first place. But this prompted me to inspect my glasses closely.

Mind you, the American Astronomical society has a list of their approved vendors and manufacturers of eclipse viewers, and top of the list is American Paper Optics. The picture below is an image of the glasses I bought. Look at the manufacturer:

These are the glasses I received, Soluna.

OK, so far so good, right? But wait. Look at the second word on the verbiage there. "Conforms TWO?" That's a doozy of a typo.

I went to the website listed, and I went to American Paper Optics's website separately. They aren't the same, but the contact on each is the same and the phone numbers match, the addresses match...That's because they are both the same company, the legitimate American Paper Optics company. All the info on these glasses is CORRECT.

BUT WAIT.

Because American Paper Optics knows about the fraud company, they kindly provided a picture of what the inside of their glasses SHOULD look like. Here it is:

What the REAL American Paper Optics glasses should look like.

Notice two things: There is no typo on these, AND there is a barcode. There is no barcode on the glasses we bought that claim to be from American Paper Optics. But, you know, maybe that barcode is only on particular models....

The other thing that tipped me off was that the name of the glasses we bought, Soluna, is nowhere on American Paper Optics's page. There are pictures of several other glasses with different printing, all legitimately made by American Paper Optics, but Soluna is nowhere to be seen. Upon further inspection of the glasses, I noticed that the lenses were squarish. Like this:

My fake/fraudulent glasses.

Now look at the picture of the real glasses, above. See how the sides of the lenses are curved? ALL American Paper Optics glasses have CURVED sides to the lenses. And indeed, inspection of their website shows this:

Comparison of certified glasses versus fraudulent ones.

I don't know about you, but I was pretty pissed when I saw this. So, back to Amazon I went, to report the company we bought these glasses from. Only....there was a problem.

The company was gone.

Of course they were gone. They probably put the glasses up for a couple days, then disappeared, then popped up under a new name, disappeared again. Selling these fraudulent glasses claiming to be from a company they are not IS in fact a felony, and having the certification info on there when they were never checked is against international law.

But most important of all, there is absolutely NO way of knowing if these glasses will keep your eyes safe, because they aren't tested and the info on them is fake.

Please, PLEASE, PLEASE only get your glasses from places that the American Astronomical Society, NASA, and the Planetary Society have deemed safe. Do NOT buy them from Amazon.

Here is a list of places deemed safe and legitimate. If you Google the names, you will find the correct sites for them, but I've provided a link for the first:

Sadly, the world seems to have become about the quickest way to make a buck. Yes, the glasses on Amazon are cheaper, but it is NOT worth the risk to your eyes. The damage to your eyes from looking at an eclipse is not repairable and is permanent. Pay a bit more and get the actual certified glasses. Make sure you can't see ANYTHING through them. Not a thing. Not the lights around the house, nothing. If you can see anything, throw them out. Or do what I'm doing and return them, reporting the company to Amazon and whatever authorities I can find.

Set to the backdrop music of "Thriller," this trailer holds thrills, chills, and clues to the season to come! Poor Will, we might have guessed that life wouldn't return to normal upon his return at the end of last season... But he has his friends by his side! There's just enough time to binge watch season 1 again before Stranger Things 2 premieres on Netflix on October 27.

Nerds everywhere rejoiced as we got our first peek at the movie adaptation of Ernest Cline's novel Ready Player One, featured at San Diego Comic-Con 2017! And it is, indeed, a "holy grail of pop culture." This is it. The "oasis" for geeks everywhere. A movie that gets us. A movie that is everything we get.

Music, visuals, pop culture references....Children of the Eighties, rejoice! This is a movie for us!

Directed by Stephen Spielberg, this movie features nods to video games, movies, novels, and more. Everything geeks loved about the book seems to be represented in the film, at least as far as can be told by the trailer. But we'll have to wait until March 2018 to know for sure!

We're used to seeing John Barrowman's (Doctor Who, Torchwood, Arrow) antics--yet we never tire of them. Fans were delighted at San Diego Comic-Con yesterday when Barrowman pirouetted onto stage wearing a short sparkling TARDIS dress complete with yellow petticoat and matching Converse All-Stars. He treated the audience to singing and dancing, funny stories, and some honest discussion. He then answered questions from the audience.

The wait for a peek at Pacific Rim: Uprising is over! The trailer just dropped at San Diego Comic Con, and it looks sleek, shiny, and inspiring. It embraces everything I love about mech--innovation, human endeavor, and the strength of mind plus matter.

What do you think?

Fans can also go to gojaeger.com to see some more awesome goodness about the movie and to join the Jaeger uprising!

Parents everywhere are squealing. Those with older children vow to conceive younger ones. People who vowed off kids are reconsidering. What's got everyone so wound up?

Radio Flyer's new Landspeeder, of course!

Modeled after Luke Skywalker's X-34 landspeeder from Star Wars: A New Hope, this is a drivable vehicle that includes an interactive dashboard with lights and realistic sounds, just like Luke's. There's room for two riders, and the speeder can go up to 5 mph forward and 2 mph in reverse. It has a 12V rechargeable battery, with the charger included.

The fine print says the speeder can hold up to 130 lbs. So...it could totally hold me, right? If only I were shorter...

Luke Skywalker's Landspeeder from Radio Flyer will only be available starting 9/5/2017 at Toys R Us, and has a price tag of $499.99. That's a little above most kids' allowances, so maybe time to borrow a little from Jabba? What could go wrong?

Have you seen the behind the scenes reel of The Lest Jedi? Disney and Lucasfilm released it at DIsney's D23 expo, a show celebrating film and fans, and it certainly has people talking and speculating!

Set against a gripping score, this different sort of a trailer gives fans a behind the scenes look at the actors and crew members of the movie, so we can get to hear their take on things. The trailer features snippets from folks like Daisey Ridley, Mark Hamill, Gwendolyn Christie, and even Carrie Fisher. We see characters Kylo Ren, Hux, Poe Damoren, Finn, and more, as well as some new characters. There are explosions and emotional scenes, space ships and new scenery. We get a glimpse at costumes and props in progress, as well as some new creatures that will be made possible via puppetry and CGI.

It sounds like audiences will be in for quite a trip come December 15, with cast and crew alike saying that the film is surprising, shocking at times, and keeps Star Wars fresh. At the same time, from what we can see from the reel, we can also take comfort in knowing that there will be plenty of the Star Wars we know and love in there as well.

Jodie Whittaker from the series Broadchurch has been announced by BBC as playing the 13th Doctor on Doctor Who!! It will be an interesting and refreshing take on the Doctor, to be sure, and I for one am very excited to welcome the first female Doctor!

Those of us who were childhood--even lifelong--fans of Madeleine L'Engle's Time Quintet, starting with the novel A Wrinkle in Time, may have had mixed reactions when we first heard the news about Disney producing a new film adaptation. It's always kind of a risk for a company to take something that's been around for so long, and that's been so beloved, and try to portray it on film. Especially a story as fantastic as L'Engle's.

Disney's possibly one of the only companies that *I* think could pull this movie off, and after seeing the release of the first trailer for the film this weekend, I admit I'm cautiously optimistic. OK FINE, I'll go out on a limb and say that, frankly, I think it looks AWESOME, and really can't wait to see if the whole film lives up to the promise of this trailer!

A Wrinkle in Time is expected in theaters on March 9, 2018! Just enough time to read the books to your little nerdlings, if you have any, or read them yourself!

As a PS to Disney themselves, I laud the fact that recent movies have had casts and themes that are representative of real people today, instead of just a small portion of society. Magic is for everyone, and EVERYONE'S dreams can come true. Please keep it up!

That's right! BBC has announced that anxious fans will finally learn who will be replacing Peter Capaldi in his role as the Doctor. There has been tons of speculation and false reports. Who will it be? Will we see our first female Doctor? Will the Doctor be GINGER? We'll all have to wait until Sunday to find out!